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OWNYOURKI
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CLARKSON POTTER

Copyright 2013 by Anne Burrell

Photographs copyright 2013 by Quentin Bacon
All rights reserved.
Published in the United States by Clarkson Potter/
Publishers, an imprint of the Crown Publishing
Group, a division of Random House, Inc., New York.
www.crownpublishing.com
www.clarksonpotter.com
CLARKSON POTTER is a trademark and POTTER
with colophon is a registered trademark of Random
House, Inc.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Burrell, Anne.
Own your kitchen / Anne Burrell with Suzanne
Lenzer ; photographs by Quentin Bacon.
pages cm
Includes index.
1. Cooking. I. Lenzer, Suzanne. II. Title.
TX714.B8677 2013
641.5--dc23
2012050250
ISBN 978-0-307-88676-7
eISBN 978-0-385-34557-6
Printed in Hong Kong
Jacket photography by Quentin Bacon
10987654321
First Edition

Taste and season as you go. Many

have the same function as salt. For some

enough to forget! Start with about 6 to

home cooks practice the I-hope-it-

reason people tend to be freaked out

7minutes, but keep any eye on them and

comes-out-all-right method of cooking

about too much salt but they go hog

set a timer. Once you start to smell them

I know Ive said all this before but I

they dont taste their food during the

wild with pepper. Pepper adds an entirely

its too late!

have to say it again because these are

cooking process and then wonder why it

different flavor to food. I would never

basic culinary principles that Im super

isnt delicious when its done. As a cook,

think of adding salt and horseradish to

passionate aboutand if you stick to

you must taste your food and season it

everything! Its the same with pepper.

them (like you should!) they will help you

throughout the cooking process. FOOD

become a rock star at the stove.

SHOULD TASTE GOOD! If you dont taste

it throughout the cooking process theres

the step that nobody ever wants to do

10 ways to own
your kitchen

Read a recipe all the way through,

before you start cooking. This is

The right equipment makes

cooking fun. Having the tools you

need to cook the dishes you want is

Fresh herbs rock, dried herbs

dont. Id rather cook without

important, but you dont have to run out

and buy everything all at once. Add the

herbs than use dried herbs, which are

ones that excite you to your birthday

or to fix it if something is wrong. Your

nothing like their fresh counterparts.

list! Start by getting yourself set up

palate is just like any other muscle and

In my opinion, most dried herbs dont

with some basics: pots and pans, bowls,

and its the one that will help prevent

you need to learn to train it. The only way

taste very good. Adding something that

wooden spoons, spatulas, measuring

mistakes. By reading the recipe first you

to do this is to taste your food!!!

doesnt taste good to your dish usually

cups and spoons, and then add as you

know where youre heading in a recipe

from the prep work to cooking time

and exactly what you need in terms of

no way for you to know what it tastes like

doesnt make it taste better. So heres my

need to. Once you start cooking youll

Embrace salt. Salt is a flavor

professional advice: Dont do it.

gradually collect more stuff and then

enhancer and it brings out the

youll want even morekitchen tools are

natural flavors in food. IT MAKES THINGS

ingredients and equipment.

Spices are sexy! Spices add taste,

addictive!

aroma, and warmth to food. Theyre

10

TASTE MORE. If you dont cook with salt

I said it. Accept it and move on. If you

a dish from good to greatbut they

and it means to get all of your prep

cook from scratch using fresh ingredients

need to be treated with respect. Buy

work done before you start cooking. By

(meaning seasonal produce and high-

them in small amounts and replace them

make cooking easier and more enjoyable.

getting all your ingredients ready and

quality meat) you can salt with reckless

annually. Its also best to buy them in

Start with some basicsgood quality

your equipment out before you get to the

abandon and youll never get close to

their whole form and toast them in a dry

olive oil, kosher salt, Parmigiano, garlic,

stove, youll be an organized cook and

anything that has been processed or

saut pan for 3 or 4 minutes until theyre

dried pasta, canned tomatoes and beans,

you can clean as you go. And you wont

packaged. Cook from scratch and season

super aromatic. Then grind them in a

bread crumbs, spices, and so onand

get stuck trying to come up with creative

with salt.

spice grinder (a coffee grinder used just

keep adding to it as you go along. With

solutions for problems or being bunched

for spices).

a package of pasta in the house and a

few other staples youll always be able to

Do your mise en place. Mise en

you will never be a good cook . . . there,

place translates to put in place

up because youre working in the middle

of clutter. Good mise en place will make
cooking less stressful for you, more fun,
and delicious. Its a win-win-win!

14

Salt and pepper are not married,

theyre only dating. Salt and

pepper do not serve the same function

so they dont need to be used together.

seeds, bark, and pods that can transform

Im all about fresh produce and

meat, but a well-stocked pantry will

Toast your nutsit makes them

browner and crunchier, and brings
out their full nutty flavor. To make

Im not a gratuitous pepper girlI use

sure nuts toast evenly, put them on a

pepper as an ingredient, its a spice that

baking sheet in a 350F. oven. How long

adds another strong flavor. It does not

does it take for nuts to toast? Just long

OW N YO U R K I TC H E N

Keep your pantry stocked.

whip up a delicious meal!

introduction

15

Taste and season as you go. Many

have the same function as salt. For some

enough to forget! Start with about 6 to

home cooks practice the I-hope-it-

reason people tend to be freaked out

7minutes, but keep any eye on them and

comes-out-all-right method of cooking

about too much salt but they go hog

set a timer. Once you start to smell them

I know Ive said all this before but I

they dont taste their food during the

wild with pepper. Pepper adds an entirely

its too late!

have to say it again because these are

cooking process and then wonder why it

different flavor to food. I would never

basic culinary principles that Im super

isnt delicious when its done. As a cook,

think of adding salt and horseradish to

passionate aboutand if you stick to

you must taste your food and season it

everything! Its the same with pepper.

them (like you should!) they will help you

throughout the cooking process. FOOD

become a rock star at the stove.

SHOULD TASTE GOOD! If you dont taste

it throughout the cooking process theres

the step that nobody ever wants to do

10 ways to own
your kitchen

Read a recipe all the way through,

before you start cooking. This is

The right equipment makes

cooking fun. Having the tools you

need to cook the dishes you want is

Fresh herbs rock, dried herbs

dont. Id rather cook without

important, but you dont have to run out

and buy everything all at once. Add the

herbs than use dried herbs, which are

ones that excite you to your birthday

or to fix it if something is wrong. Your

nothing like their fresh counterparts.

list! Start by getting yourself set up

palate is just like any other muscle and

In my opinion, most dried herbs dont

with some basics: pots and pans, bowls,

and its the one that will help prevent

you need to learn to train it. The only way

taste very good. Adding something that

wooden spoons, spatulas, measuring

mistakes. By reading the recipe first you

to do this is to taste your food!!!

doesnt taste good to your dish usually

cups and spoons, and then add as you

know where youre heading in a recipe

from the prep work to cooking time

and exactly what you need in terms of

no way for you to know what it tastes like

doesnt make it taste better. So heres my

need to. Once you start cooking youll

Embrace salt. Salt is a flavor

professional advice: Dont do it.

gradually collect more stuff and then

enhancer and it brings out the

youll want even morekitchen tools are

natural flavors in food. IT MAKES THINGS

ingredients and equipment.

Spices are sexy! Spices add taste,

addictive!

aroma, and warmth to food. Theyre

10

TASTE MORE. If you dont cook with salt

I said it. Accept it and move on. If you

a dish from good to greatbut they

and it means to get all of your prep

cook from scratch using fresh ingredients

need to be treated with respect. Buy

work done before you start cooking. By

(meaning seasonal produce and high-

them in small amounts and replace them

make cooking easier and more enjoyable.

getting all your ingredients ready and

quality meat) you can salt with reckless

annually. Its also best to buy them in

Start with some basicsgood quality

your equipment out before you get to the

abandon and youll never get close to

their whole form and toast them in a dry

olive oil, kosher salt, Parmigiano, garlic,

stove, youll be an organized cook and

anything that has been processed or

saut pan for 3 or 4 minutes until theyre

dried pasta, canned tomatoes and beans,

you can clean as you go. And you wont

packaged. Cook from scratch and season

super aromatic. Then grind them in a

bread crumbs, spices, and so onand

get stuck trying to come up with creative

with salt.

spice grinder (a coffee grinder used just

keep adding to it as you go along. With

solutions for problems or being bunched

for spices).

a package of pasta in the house and a

few other staples youll always be able to

Do your mise en place. Mise en

you will never be a good cook . . . there,

place translates to put in place

up because youre working in the middle

of clutter. Good mise en place will make
cooking less stressful for you, more fun,
and delicious. Its a win-win-win!

14

Salt and pepper are not married,

theyre only dating. Salt and

pepper do not serve the same function

so they dont need to be used together.

seeds, bark, and pods that can transform

Im all about fresh produce and

meat, but a well-stocked pantry will

Toast your nutsit makes them

browner and crunchier, and brings
out their full nutty flavor. To make

Im not a gratuitous pepper girlI use

sure nuts toast evenly, put them on a

pepper as an ingredient, its a spice that

baking sheet in a 350F. oven. How long

adds another strong flavor. It does not

does it take for nuts to toast? Just long

OW N YO U R K I TC H E N

Keep your pantry stocked.

whip up a delicious meal!

introduction

15

tomato salad

with shrimp and black volcanic sea salt

S e r v e s 4 to 6 t i m e A b o u t 2 0 m i n u t e s

When I was in Hawaii I had this version of a tomato salad with shrimp and volcanic salt, and it was amazing. First of all, it looks beautifulthe red tomatoes, pink
shrimp, and inky black crystals on top are a vision of delightfulness. Then you take
that first bite and the little salt crystals give up their crunchy, oceanic, mineral-y
salinity. Next you taste the sweet shrimp, like they jumped right out of the water
and onto your plate. And of course fresh, sweet, juicy, slightly acidic tomatoes
bring it all together. Its not just another tomato saladits a party in your mouth!

Mise en Place

1 2

Extra virgin olive oil

4 cloves garlic, smashed
Crushed red pepper
1 pound large shrimp,
peeled and deveined

pint heirloom cherry

tomatoes, halved

1 pound heirloom tomatoes,

cut in various shapes
1 2

6 large fresh basil leaves,

cut into a chiffonade
1 4

cup red wine vinegar

Black volcanic sea salt

white onion (if you have

a Maui onion, thats
great), thinly sliced

Kosher salt

A N N E - N O TAT I O N Okay, so you may not

have a volcano in your backyard or access
to volcanic salt at your grocery store. But
you can get it online or use another kind
of big, flaky salt like Maldonits really
just about feeling that salty punctuation
in contrast to the sweet tomatoes and
shrimp.

22

Coat a large saut pan with olive oil.

Add the garlic and a pinch of crushed
red pepper and bring the pan to
high heat. When the garlic is golden
and very aromatic, about 2 minutes,
remove it and ditch itit has fulfilled
its garlic destiny. Toss in the shrimp,
season with kosher salt, and cook for
2 to 3minutes, or until the shrimp

turn pink on the outside and are

opaque all the way through. Remove
from the heat and reserve.
2 In a large bowl, combine all the
tomatoes, onion, basil, and a pinch of
crushed red pepper. Add the vinegar
and the juices from the pan. Toss
gently.
3 Arrange the salad on serving plates
and top with the shrimp. Sprinkle with
the sea salt and serve.

OW N YO U R K I TC H E N

whole roasted fish

in salt crust

Serves 2 time About 1 hour

This recipe looks so impressive and is so easy its almost not fair. Get a whole fish
(its great if youve just been fishing and have hooked this), toss some herbs in
the belly, mix salt with some egg whites, and toss it in the oven. You get the fun
of cracking the salt crust off the fish at the table and then offering up a perfectly
seasoned, juicy, succulent fish. You wont have to go fishing for compliments.

Mise en Place
2 lemons, 1 zested and
juiced, 1 sliced
1 bunch of fresh thyme,
leaves from half,
remaining sprigs left
whole

3 fresh bay leaves, coarsely

chopped
2 cloves garlic, smashed

1 3-pound whole fish, such

as snapper, branzino, or
orata (sea bream)

6 large egg whites

Big fat finishing oil

5 cups kosher salt

Preheat the oven to 450F.

2 In the food processor, combine the

lemon zest and juice, thyme leaves,
bay leaves, and garlic. Pulse, pulse,
pulse until a coarse paste forms.
3 Add the egg whites to the mixture and
process until very frothy and foamy.
4 In a large bowl, combine the herb-egg
mixture with the salt and stir to create
a moist paste.
5 Spoon a little less than half the salt
mixture onto a rimmed baking sheet
and pat it into a long oval, a little
bigger than the fish.
6 Lay the fish on the salt pedestal and
fill the cavity of the fish with the
lemon slices and the thyme sprigs.

120

Pack the remaining salt mixture firmly

around the fish to completely encase
it and create a crust.
7 Transfer the fish to the oven and roast
for 25 minutes.
8 Remove the fish and let it rest for
10minutes. Crack open the salt crust,
remove the top layer, and brush the
excess salt from the fish with a dry
pastry brush.
9 Remove the top fillet of the fish
and carefully transfer to a serving
plate. Pull out the spine and discard.
Transfer the bottom fillet to the
serving plate as well and drizzle with
big fat finishing oil to serve.

OW N YO U R K I TC H E N

Steak Sandwich with Onions, Camembert, Fried Egg, and Chimichurri

sandwches

I
H

focaccia

taleggio grilled cheese

174

with bacon and honey crisp

apples190

lamb meatballs
with tzatziki

177

killer turkey burgers

cubano toscano

180

182

soprasetta and mortadella

sandwich
with pickled hot peppers

sicilian tuna,
caponata, provolone,
and arugula panino 188

185

leftover thanksgiving
dinner sandwich 193
steak sandwich
with onions, camembert, fried egg,
and chimichurri 194

ham, gruyre, and

focaccia sammies 197

ham, gruyre, and

focaccia sammies
Serves 4 time About 20 minutes

This sandwich always gets my mouth watering: beautiful salty ham sliced superthin, layered on with lots of love, then goosed up with some briny cornichon relish
and spicy Dijon mustard, all squished and bound together with melty, cheesy wonderfulness. THATS a great sandwich. It makes me smile just thinking about it.

Mise en Place
1 2

cup cornichons,
coarsely chopped

1 4

cup Dijon mustard

1 4

cup mayo

1 2

recipe Focaccia (page

174), cut into 3 x 5-inch
rectangles, each
rectangle cut in half
equatorially through
the bready middle (you
should have 4 rectangles,
each with a top and
bottom)

A N N E - N O TAT I O N My homemade
focaccia is perfect for this, but of course
pick your battles. Store-bought is okay.

Preheat the broiler.

2 In a small bowl, combine the

cornichons, Dijon mustard, and mayo.
Spread the inside of each piece of the
focaccia with the cornichon mixture.
Be sure each piece is evenly coated.

1 2

1 2

pound Gruyre cheese,

sliced
pound ham, thinly sliced

4 Remove from the broiler and crinkle

2 pieces of ham on the bottom half
of each piece of foccacia in a fluffy,
even layer. Return the sammies to the
broiler for another minute, or until the
ham is warm but not crusty.
5 Remove the sammies from the oven,
place the tops on the bottoms, and
press firmly to secure. Cut in half on
the bias and serve hot.

3 Lay 2 pieces of Gruyre on each piece

of focaccia. Transfer to a baking sheet
and place under the broiler. Cook until
the cheese gets really nice and melty,
4 to 5 minutes total.

san dwich es

197

Pur
chas
eacopyof

OWNYOURKI
T
CHE
N
atoneoft
hes
er
et
ai
l
er
s
:

CLARKSON POTTER